Prayer Vs. Productivity
A few months ago, one of our student ministry interns snapped a picture of me asleep in my office. I don’t always take a mid-afternoon nap at my desk (I have several “secret” spots for napping). I wasn’t embarrassed about getting caught nodding off, because I wasn’t dozing. I was praying. More accurately, I fell asleep praying and I’m ok with that.
One of the biggest barriers to having an active prayer life in ministry, oddly enough, is ministry itself. Our meetings, events, e-mail and other tasks can get in the way of our Spiritual transformation. As we strive for professionalism, productivity is a benchmark of excellence. The problem with prayer is that it doesn’t feel productive.
Imagine telling one of your volunteers who runs a plumbing business that you spent part of your day praying. Would you feel ashamed, unproductive or guilty? Would you worry that they’d think you were lazy? One of my best friends in ministry once told me, “You should NEVER, EVER feel guilty for putting prayer into your ministry workday.” Prayer is the MOST productive thing we can do because only when we invite God into our ministry work will we see real power and transformation in our ministry and churches.
Thankfully, I serve in a church that sees the value of prayer and has never made me feel unproductive for getting time away to pray. They model dependance on Jesus because we pray together a lot as a staff. If you aren’t feeling the same level of freedom, I would suggest for you to meet with your leadership to talk about it. It’s too valuable of a matter to let fall through the cracks.
Prayer isn’t for the ascetics and monks. It’s for every Christian who seeks to live life in the Spirit. A flower would never feel guilty about soaking in the sun and water. You should never feel guilty for spending time soaking in the glory of Christ in prayer.
Prayer challenge for the week:
Schedule15-20 minutes of prayer each day in the middle of your work day. This isn’t your quiet time or personal Bible study. This is just time for you and Jesus to spend time talking about the pressing matters of your heart. See how this “appointment” with Jesus will transform the rest of your work day.
